Stories by Matt Masterson

A new partnership between the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and a nonprofit could help clear tens of thousands of low-level marijuana convictions from Cook County records. State’s Attorney Kim Foxx explains.

In 2010, Cheryl Strayed rather reluctantly agreed to write an unpaid online advice column under the name of “Dear Sugar.” Those columns come to life in this beauty of a show, artfully adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”).

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has paid $80 million to victims of sexual abuse by clergy represented by a single law firm alone since 2000, the Minnesota-based attorney who heads the firm told reporters.

Pat Lohenry has loved miniatures for as long as she can remember. And as a teenager, she went from playing with them to making them. Today, her basement is full of her creations.

Watch the Sept. 17, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Cokie Roberts, the daughter of politicians who grew up to cover the family business in Washington for ABC News and NPR over several decades, died Tuesday in Washington of complications from breast cancer. She was 75.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is making her first endorsement of a liberal challenger to an incumbent House Democrat, backing Marie Newman in the primary against eight-term Rep. Daniel Lipinski in Illinois.

The first sexual experience for 1 in 16 U.S. women was forced or coerced intercourse in their early teens, encounters that for some may have had lasting health repercussions, a study suggests.

Indiana’s attorney general said Monday that he will work with his Illinois counterpart to investigate what he called the “grisly discovery” of more than 2,000 medically preserved fetal remains at the Illinois home of a late doctor who performed abortions in Indiana.

A longtime scrap metal recycler reaches a deal with the city to close up shop at its location next to the Lincoln Yards site and move operations to the Southeast Side. But not everyone is happy about it.

If Asian carp invade the Great Lakes, experts say the fish would have a devastating effect on the marine food chain and the region’s $7 billion fishing industry. We get a look at efforts to keep them out of Illinois waterways.

A new resolution on reparations is scheduled to be introduced in City Council this week. Alds. Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward) and Nick Sposato (38th Ward) weigh in on the topic.

Playwright Lauren Yee possesses a special gift for animating and personalizing history, and for penning exceptionally dynamic dialogue. And although not a single basketball is dropped into a hoop during “The Great Leap,” the sport comes to life.

The retail giant is roughly doubling the number of employees in its Loop office. But these aren’t warehouse jobs – the new hires that will work in fields including cloud computing, advertising and business development. 

College admissions have been major news in recent months after a bribery scam came to light. A new book explores how the higher education system is failing many low-income students and students of color.

A conversation with “Audience of One” author James Poniewozik, the chief television critic for the New York Times.

It’s a job as old as time, but one Chicagoan is beekeeping in her own unique way. Meet graphic designer-turned-beekeeper Jana Kinsman.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has nominated Dr. Allison Arwady to become the next commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. Arwady has been serving as acting commissioner since June.

As underage vaping and hospitalizations linked to vaping continue to rise, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is calling for a citywide ban on flavored e-cigarette products. “The dangers are manifesting themselves literally every day. We must act and we will,” she said.

Watch the Sept. 16, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Ric Ocasek, The Cars frontman whose deadpan vocal delivery and lanky, sunglassed look defined a rock era with chart-topping hits like “Just What I Needed,” was discovered dead Sunday afternoon in his Manhattan apartment.

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners expressed sympathy but not responsibility for the nation’s opioid crisis as the company filed for bankruptcy protection late Sunday night.

Eddy Pineiro won Chicago’s nerve-wracking kicking competition. Now, he’s winning over Bears fans and teammates who suffered through the double-doink miss by Cody Parkey that sent them home from the playoffs.

After rejecting the district’s latest offer, Chicago educators are back at the bargaining table negotiating issues including pay, staffing shortages and class size.

Anne Burke is elevated to chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. CPS is hit with another scathing report on sexual abuse. Uber’s CEO bets big on Chicago. And the Bears try to reverse fortune against the Broncos.

Adam Hergenreder, 18, looks like a typical teenager, but his lungs tell a different story. “I’ve been told by medical professionals that my lungs are that of a 70-year-old,” the Gurnee resident said Friday at a press conference.